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Hi. I have almost a decade of experience with the excitingly tedious world of logistics, starting with almost five years specializing in importing goods into the USA and currently work in domestic freight. How stuff gets from point A to point B is a journey rife with hardship and I'll happily guide you thru it.
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Nov 16, 2018 00:39
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How badly were you impacted by the Hanjin bankruptcy? How much did rates go up, since it was in the run-up to Christmas?
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Nov 16, 2018 03:46
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i dont know anything about your field so im not sure if these questions really apply to you, apologies if they don't. i'm assuming you work domestically in the USA when i learned about linear programming and the birth of optimization, problems like this were always fundamental examples. do you use optimization in your job, or does your job relate to optimization getting done by some other people? for land-based transportation, when does it become economical to use rail? do you do things like try to project california's winter snowfall months in advance to decide whether or not to schedule trucks over the donner pass on 80, specific stuff like that on specific chokepoints? how about inland waterways in the usa, like the mississippi or the intracoastal waterway, do those play a major role in your logistics? how would things like a robotruck-only lane in rural like I-10 and convoys of self-driving trucks conserving drag across major transit arteries affect your field? has there been any hint of self-driving technology impacting large-scale logistics any time soon? and if you have experience on the international side from your import work, how do you think would your job differ between nations? anyway thanks for the thread, hope some of that is relevant
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Nov 16, 2018 07:46
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who sets freight codes? is there like an imo but just for pricing or something like that?
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Nov 16, 2018 20:15
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Groly posted:How badly were you impacted by the Hanjin bankruptcy? How much did rates go up, since it was in the run-up to Christmas? I cant give much information on rates anymore, since I work in Domestic Freight now. I don't have a finger on that pulse. I can put a pin in this and ask one of my old contacts if they seen an increase in rates and how long that lasted.
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Nov 16, 2018 23:31
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Coolness Averted posted:who sets freight codes? is there like an imo but just for pricing or something like that? The US International Trade Commission is the authority on international goods which is a federal matter. Classifications can change depending on the nation which goods are coming from (like Free Trade agreements and special concessions for developing nations). I've seen the printed version of it in it's entirety contained within multiple 3 ring binders. It is expansive and changes constantly depending on policy and who's fingers are in who's pies at the moment. NMFC classifcations for freight were created by the NMFTA. From their website: quote:The National Motor Freight Classification® (NMFC®) is a standard that provides a comparison of commodities moving in interstate, intrastate and foreign commerce. It is similar in concept to the groupings or grading systems that serve many other industries. Commodities are grouped into one of 18 classes—from a low of class 50 to a high of class 500—based on an evaluation of four transportation characteristics: density, handling, stowability and liability. Together, these characteristics establish a commodity’s “transportability.” The only time I actually SEE NMFC codes come into play from my side of the industry is determining pricing via inspection of Freight. IE, a company puts one classification on their paperwork and we determine its another and change the difference.
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Nov 16, 2018 23:48
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oystertoadfish posted:
quote:for land-based transportation, when does it become economical to use rail? quote:do you do things like try to project california's winter snowfall months in advance to decide whether or not to schedule trucks over the donner pass on 80, specific stuff like that on specific chokepoints? For importing? You'll see trends change up, but the end result is still rife with delay because avoiding a point of entry means others get congested. And no matter where you go, the ports holding your freight are going to hoe you for storage if they can. The only thing -I- can do about this is work with my customer to figure, tell them what the possibilities are and see how they want to deal with it, because its all very nebulous. quote:how about inland waterways in the usa, like the mississippi or the intracoastal waterway, do those play a major role in your logistics? quote:how would things like a robotruck-only lane in rural like I-10 and convoys of self-driving trucks conserving drag across major transit arteries affect your field? has there been any hint of self-driving technology impacting large-scale logistics any time soon? quote:and if you have experience on the international side from your import work, how do you think would your job differ between nations?
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Nov 17, 2018 00:46
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Is it a stressful job? Are you on the hook for something if anything gets lost? How do you evaluate job performance? What's your schedule like?
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Nov 22, 2018 04:41
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Cool Dude 69 posted:I have almost a decade of experience with the excitingly tedious world of logistics, starting with almost five years specializing in importing goods into the USA and currently work in domestic freight. Truer words have never been spoken, in my experience logistics is all about problem solving. I have some years of experience in logistics in the EU, though not as many as you. Getting out of my last job on that field was the best thing I did in my life. Maybe I was just not cut out for it or I had bad luck and end up working in some lovely places. Anyway, how's your life in domestic compared to import? Do you miss dealing with customs? I for sure don't, USA customs can be a giant pain in the rear end sometimes.
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Nov 22, 2018 12:20
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Oddly posted:Is it a stressful job? Are you on the hook for something if anything gets lost? How do you evaluate job performance? What's your schedule like? Schedule: Both my jobs have been in the standard 8am - 5pm range, Monday thru Friday-- When I did imports I would work on weekends if I had air freight since that more of an urgent thing-- Airlines are notoriously stingy with free time and you have to get goods out of there ASAP to avoid storage fees. Since most of what I deal with is on the business side all avenues of communication are kind of cut-off at that point anyway, otherwise. ---- As far as Stress Goes: When I did imports, Air, Ocean and Land transit had some pretty basic schedules, so once you're aware of the rhythm of those things its much easier. But, it can be stressful when a specific consignee has a hot shipment or a lot of things are coming in at the same time... Or issues at the port (eg, one time a port of entry had a "Chassis Shortage"-- which meant trucking companies that had usable chassis' got stretched thin in that area.. and we couldn't get our freight out. And that port still charged us storage...) BUT being proactive and knowing transit times cuts out A LOT of issues and means a lot of shipments, especially Ocean Freight are essentially "Set it and Forget it" until it arrives and has to get delivered. --- For Dom. Freight, I have worked ALL shifts with my company at this point, and right now I am on an early first shift slot and my duties are more on the side of auditing driver paperwork, accounting, making appointments for deliveries and "troubleshooting" issues with shipments before they go out for delivery and kind of basic customer service stuff-- lots of phone calls. The most stressful shift was outbound-- where we receive pick ups and then send out freight to the next leg of their journeys. Its a lot of fast paced back to back data entry. The road drivers taking freight to other terminals at night have to make cut-times to keep those items in line with our ETA's. In all fairness its a lot of basic data entry, but we have about 30 drivers making daily pick ups at multiple locations so its fast paced and any issue can really throw a wrench into the rhythm of everything. ----------- Lost Shipments: I've never had an issue with missing shipments when I did imports. Since those items are being reported to the government everyone usually very thorough. With Freight-- Nothing is ever really "Missing" Errors on our end are generally a matter of things being misloaded or trailers being loaded incorrectly which can cause a delay/damage/pieces going missing. This is a dock issue and nothing I am directly accountable for, but does lead to a lot of "Shoot the Messenger" situations if I am working with a customer who's freight has been mishandled by us. When we can't 'find' something, most of the time it is because the shipper didn't label things well or packaged it badly or the shipment Bills are just flat out wrong. When we get freight, the label and bill of lading should all match. Things are "Missing" when those things don't match. We can do what we can to figure it out, but if for whatever reason the mystery can't be solved the item will be destroyed or goto auction. If you are receiving freight shipments from a company, make sure that they're packaging, labeling and creating bills CORRECTLY. Be adamant about it, because it'll be a pain in your rear end if you don't. ------- Job Performance: I have never been in managerial positions where I have to evaluate another employee(where I work now, it would oblige me to travel wherever the company decides they need me every few years). BUUUUT.... The people I work with who communicate well are the ones who end up being the most helpful at getting shipments where they need to go. Its so integral to the process that every entity and individual involved is on the same page and those who are willing to do the legwork to make that happen are invaluable.
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Nov 23, 2018 07:30
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Angry Lobster posted:Anyway, how's your life in domestic compared to import? Do you miss dealing with customs? I for sure don't, USA customs can be a giant pain in the rear end sometimes. I miss importing, but only from the standpoint of having been working for a very small business. I handled every aspect of a shipment and worked very closely with my customers, so there was that "Familial" part of the job. In the domestic world, I am working for a very large international company, and I have multiple managers to answer to. Workload-wise its technically a cake-walk compared to the importing; I have a lot of diverse duties from aiding in dispatch to auditing driver paperwork, but they're less tedious than what is involved with customs clearance imo. My customer service duties are worse as well. With imports obv. theres going to be a lot of disappointment, but my customers were also very aware of how easy it was for their shipment get delayed. Now I deal with a lot of people who just don't understand "the machine." The company handles a lot of residential shipments alongside the usual business deliveries/supply chain poo poo and that part of it is the worse because the Average person who orders some furniture off ebay is SO READY and WILLING to assume we hosed up, when the company they ordered from gave us bad paperwork or the consignee didn't provide their phone number on an online order form, so a question we needed answered before delivery couldn't be. It can take a toll on a bad day-- Its not my fault, but it still sucks getting yelled at. That being said, I really dont want to deal with Customs, FDA, ATF or USDA ever again. At the end of the day, I am still solving enough problems that my Satisfaction Quota is filled without having to crack open the harmonized tariff schedule 
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Nov 23, 2018 08:33
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What companies are reliable for consumers in terms of airfreight? (in the event of moving from one country to another) And I'm sure there's quite a bit of paperwork involved too.
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Jan 13, 2019 15:09
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Am relocating to the US from Korea soon. If I choose to put my stuff in boxes (i.e. no furniture, mostly just books and clothes and maybe a few electronic things) and send them via surface mail, which afaik is the cheapest way to do it where it gets put on a barge or something and takes months to deliver, how likely will my stuff be all hosed up when it finally arrives? Is there a better option that you recommend? Because I likely won't need any of it quickly and can probably wait a while for it to come.
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Jan 22, 2019 23:15
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| # ? May 3, 2024 06:06 |
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quote:and if you have experience on the international side from your import work, how do you think would your job differ between nations? Every country has its own vagaries, preferences, and preferred exporters. For example, when I import rice into the USA, it can go one of two ways (with regards to customs clearance). Either it gets cleared at the port, or it goes to an exam warehouse to get cleared. For imports to the USA, I can almost always guarantee that the holds will be purely a document hold when the rice comes from Thailand, because Thailand will generally include an SGS report (very well trusted third party auditing company, who will screen for pesticides and such), and frequently the container will clear FDA before it even sees American soil. Those containers will clear at the port, and we pay a nominal fee (maybe couple hundred bucks?) to the port for the customs exam. If the rice comes from India, however, even with the SGS report attached to the submitted docs, it will almost always go to an exam site, where the fees /start/ at $600 total /for a really cheap port/. So in Los Angeles, I can pay around $600, and maybe $45 a day for yard storage in case my trucker doesn't have capacity to go collect it before the free time expires at the exam site. In Newark, I can count on the exact same thing running $1200, and paying both chassis and yard storage charges for missing the last free day. In Norfolk, that same container might run me like $1500. Customs I can usually handle just fine, but the FDA drags so much rear end it's not even funny. I've had one sat in Oakland since like December, and the exam results have been submitted ages ago, and I'm still waiting on the bloody thing to clear. All that said, working in the import side really does give me a lot of faith in our import standards. I once had a container rejected by customs because the pallets weren't heat treated. The thing had to be sent back. That little fucker ended up costing an extra $12,000 in detention, port demurrage, and other assorted fees. Why is that a good thing? Wood that isn't heat treated can harbour pests that are nonnative to the USA, which can compromise the safety of ecosystems. Wood that hasn't been heat treated also signals that the fumigation may have been shoddy; the company provided certificates of heat treatment which couldn't be the case, because the goddamned stamp that the heat treatment facility uses were nowhere to be found on the pallets. If the heat treatment cert was fake, the fume cert was likely fake too. If it wasn't properly fumed before leaving the country of origin, there's a very good chance that the product is infested as well. It's a tiny little thing that may make you wonder WTF is wrong with people, and why are they being so picky, but that one tiny little issue that customs caught could have meant a cascade of escalating issues that nobody would have clued us into until poo poo got too late. quote:Am relocating to the US from Korea soon. If I choose to put my stuff in boxes (i.e. no furniture, mostly just books and clothes and maybe a few electronic things) and send them via surface mail, which afaik is the cheapest way to do it where it gets put on a barge or something and takes months to deliver, how likely will my stuff be all hosed up when it finally arrives? Is there a better option that you recommend? Because I likely won't need any of it quickly and can probably wait a while for it to come. It's a pretty baller move to freight your poo poo to the location before you arrive, and have only a carryon for an International flight, but /do not/ send anything that's valuable, irreplaceable, or sentimental to you. There is a nonzero chance of a million different things happening. Some customs agent could get suspicious as to why someone's using regular mail to send so much crap to himself, and pull the entire shipment for heavy inspection. You'll get your stuff back, but there are risks of damage. The mailing company could lose your stuff. Unless you insure it all and document everything, you have no recourse. Transit time: If you're using your country's regular mail, it'll likely take about 20 days tops. Busan to LA is fairly quick (like 12 - 15 days tops) and once it's in the hands of USPS, it'll take roughly 5 days. Because you're in Korea, and Busan is frequently a final destination from many different ports in Asia before making the final leap across the ocean to Los Angeles (and then Oakland) getting the post across the ocean isn't as long-winded as say India or something. For mundane, day-to-day poo poo, you'll likely be fine. For anything precious, keep that poo poo with you.
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Feb 7, 2019 14:27
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